Monthly Archives: November 2014

SUNBURY, Pa. — Sunbury Press has released John L. Moore’s Traders, Travelers, and Tomahawks, the second of eight volumes in the Frontier Pennsylvania series.

About the Book:
As he traveled across the Pennsylvania Frontier in 1743, naturalist John Bartram didn’t know what to expect when he accepted an invitation to spend the night in the cabin of a white man who traded goods for furs with the Indians. The cabin was near the native town of Shamokin (present-day Sunbury) along the Susquehanna River. “About midnight, the Indians came and called up him and his squaw,” Bartram wrote later. “She sold the Indians rum. … Being quickly intoxicated, men and women began first to sing and then dance round the fire.”

Bartram is one of many early Pennsylvanians that people this colorful non-fiction work. Others include Conrad Weiser, the Pennsylvania Colony’s Indian agent; William Penn, the colony’s visionary founder;Madame Montour, an interpreter who was the daughter of an Algonquin mother and French father; and Major General Edward Braddock, who led British troops against the French army in the Ohio River Valley.

Author John L. Moore raises and answers many questions about who the frontiersmen and natives were and what they did. What was William Penn’s colony like in its early days? How did the Lenni Lenape Indians living in Penn’s colony obtain their food? What did they eat? How did they get along with Penn, and how did Penn get along with them? Why did Penn’s sons recruit athletic young men to walk the boundary of land the Lenape weren’t especially interested in selling?

These true stories are set mainly in the valleys of the Delaware, Juniata, Lehigh, Ohio and Susquehanna rivers. They chronicle many aspects of a nearly forgotten past.

The Iroquois, for example, claimed the land along the Susquehanna and its tributaries by right of conquest of the Susquehannocks. They regarded the Juniata River Valley as prime hunting land. During the late 1740s they became distressed to see white settlers cross the Susquehanna and begin to build homesteads in territory they hadn’t sold and had intended to reserve for themselves.

In May 1750 a posse of magistrates and lawmen sent by Gov. James Hamilton rode up the Juniata and began evicting the squatters. Iroquois representatives accompanied them and forced the Pennsylvanians to set fire to the cabins of the homesteaders.

Eventually, the Indians left the Susquehanna Valley. White settlers who subsequently ventured into the upper Susquehanna during the 1780s came into a region that was still remote and desolate. The forests and fields of Pennsylvania still teemed with game, and one of these whites, Philip Tome, became a professional hunter. He let his dogs chase deer, used torchlight to hunt at night, and kept written records. One year, “every time I saw a bear, I marked it down, and in a month I counted 43,” Tome said.

Excerpt:July 1743
To be sure, a Philadelphia naturalist named John Bartram wrote about his encounters with venomous reptiles as he and his companion followed the Tulpehocken Trail west and north from Reading during the summer of 1743…

“At this place we were warned by a well known alarm to keep our distance from an enraged rattle snake that had put himself into a coiled posture of defense within a dozen yards of our path. … He had been highly irritated by an Indian dog that had barked eagerly at him, but was cunning enough to keep out of his reach or nimble enough to avoid the snake when he sprung.”

Bartram kept careful notes as he traveled. The night of July 6, for instance, he recorded that his party camped “in a fine vale, where we … were grievously stung all night with small gnats, so I slept very little.”

On July 8, a full five days after leaving Philadelphia, Bartram and his companions reached the Indian town of Shamokin, now the site of Sunbury, along the Susquehanna River. “It contains eight cabins near the river’s bank right opposite the mouth of the river’s West Branch,” he wrote.

The Indians welcomed the travelers. “As soon as we alighted, they showed us where to lay our baggage, and then brought us a bowl of boiled squashes cold.” Bartram, who had not spent much time among the Indians before this, viewed the meal as “poor entertainment.” The naturalist was in the first week of a two-month journey to visit Iroquois leaders at Onondaga in upstate New York, and he had plenty of time to learn to appreciate native hospitality. In his own words: “Before I came back, I had learned not to despise good Indian food.”

That night, “I quartered in a trader’s cabin, and about midnight, the Indians came and called up him and his squaw, who lay in a separate part where the goods were deposited. … She sold the Indians rum. … Being quickly intoxicated, men and women began first to sing and then dance round the fire.”

About the Author:
John L. Moore, a veteran newspaperman, said he employed a journalist’s eye for detail and ear for quotes in order to write about long-dead people in a lively way. He said his books are based on 18th and 19th century letters, journals, memoirs and transcripts of official proceedings such as interrogations, depositions and treaties.

The author is also a professional storyteller who specializes in dramatic episodes from Pennsylvania’s colonial history. Dressed in 18th century clothing, he does storytelling in the persona of “Susquehanna Jack,” a frontier ruffian. Moore is available weekdays, weekends and evenings for audiences and organizations of all types and sizes.

Moore has participated in several archaeological excavations of Native American sites. These include the Village of Nain, Bethlehem; the City Island project in Harrisburg, conducted by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission during the 1990s; and a Bloomsburg University dig in 1999 at a Native American site near Nescopeck. He also took part in a 1963 excavation conducted by the New Jersey State Museum along the Delaware River north of Worthington State Forest.

Moore’s 45-year career in journalism included stints as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal; as a Harrisburg-based legislative correspondent for Ottaway News Service; as managing editor of The Sentinel at Lewistown; as editorial page editor and managing editor at The Daily Item in Sunbury; and as editor of the Eastern Pennsylvania Business Journal in Bethlehem.

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — Sunbury Press has released Beth Lancione’s Solomon Screech Owl Goes to the Galapagos. The book was illustrated by Kathy Haney.

About the Book:
In the second of Solomon Screech Owl’s stories, Sollie travels, with help from some whales, to the Galapagos Islands, where he meets birds that seem very different from himself. As he gets to know them better, he comes to understand that they all have more in common than he first thought.

About the Author & Illustrator:
Beth and Kathy, with their husbands Mel Lancione and Gary Haney, visited the Galapagos Islands in 2005 and saw, at very close range, all of the fascinating creatures that Sollie encounters in this book.

Beth says, “A fellow traveler once told me, ‘If you go only one place in your life, go to Galapagos.’ I agree. I’ve been to many other places, but Galapagos is my favorite. I definitely wanted to show Sollie, and all of our readers, the wonders of these special, unique islands.”

Kathy says, “The Galapagos Islands are home to some of the earth’s unique birds and animals. There are few places in the world where you can have an upclose and personal interaction with wild creatures.

The Blue-Footed Boobies captured our imaginations, along with the iguanas, tortoises, and many other birds. We want to share our love of Galapagos with you.”

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — Sunbury Press has released Joanne L. S. Risso’sSilver Moon. The book was illustrated by Christiane Künzel.

About the Book:Silver Moon is a Chinese fairytale, and the name of a beautiful princess with a strange illness. Two magic blue gnomes from the Moon, named Pik and Pok, try to cure her of her illness with help from the Man in the Moon, a pair of moon swans, and a dashing young prince from India.

About the Author & Illustrator:
Joanne L.S. Risso was born and raised in Gippsland, Australia. Her mother used to read the story of Silver Moon to her when she was a little girl. She believes that princes, princesses, and palaces; maidens, mermaids, and magic; dragons, fairies, witches and castles should all be kept alive through stories and play. She lives with her husband and four children in Central Pennsylvania, where they often search for fairies in their garden, put on family plays with vampire-mermaids and pirates, and have sword fights in their tree-fort.

Christiane Künzel was born in 1978 in Osnabrück, Germany. Having a great love for stories, she started illustrating them early on. She then began turning her passion into her work by studying arts and English at the University of Osnabrück. She currently teaches children from age 10 to 18 at a German ‘Gymnasium’ in Arts, English and Dance. She lives in Hamburg with her two children and her husband, who enjoy seeing the stories they read turn into vivid images.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Sunbury Press has released Joe Farrell’s and Joe Farley’s Keystone Tombstones Sports. The book is a compilation of biographies about famous sportsmen buried in Pennsylvania.

About the Book:
Pennsylvania’s contributions to the sporting world are captured in this special edition of the Keystone Tombstones series focused on those persons interred in Pennsylvania who played interesting roles in sports. Farrell and Farley have combed the Keystone State to bring you the most entertaining tales about interesting sports figures buried in Pennsylvania. Included in this volume:

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Sunbury Press has released Joe Farrell’s and Joe Farley’s Keystone Tombstones Sports. The book is a compilation of biographies about famous sportsmen buried in Pennsylvania.

About the Book:
Pennsylvania’s contributions to the sporting world are captured in this special edition of the Keystone Tombstones series focused on those persons interred in Pennsylvania who played interesting roles in sports. Farrell and Farley have combed the Keystone State to bring you the most entertaining tales about interesting sports figures buried in Pennsylvania. Included in this volume:

Book Release Event:
The Joes will be at the Sunbury Press Store (50 W Main St. Mechanicsburg, OA 17055) on Saturday December 20, 2014, from 1 PM to 4 PM. Their presentation will cover interesting persons and situations from Keystone Tombstones Sports and Keystone Tombstones Volume 3.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Sunbury Press has released Carrie Wissler Thomas’s As the Paint Dries: The History of the Art Association of Harrisburg. The author is the association’s president.

About the Book:
This history of the Art Association of Harrisburg is both a factual accounting of the story of the region’s most venerable fine arts organization, and also an often-amusing romp through the personal reminiscences of author Carrie Wissler-Thomas. The Art Association was founded by cultured civic leaders who were passionate about the visual arts, and it has continued to survive and prosper throughout eight decades due to the dedication and support of both artists and committed patrons. The history of The Art Association in many ways mirrors the history of Harrisburg, reflecting the vicissitudes of the City’s economy and development, the Renaissance of the 1980s and ‘90s, the construction of the Hilton and other prominent downtown buildings, the re-development of Reservoir Park, and the emergence of Restaurant Row. The Art Association was founded during the heyday of The City Beautiful Movement, and like The Harrisburg Symphony and Theatre Harrisburg, the organization continues to provide cultural enjoyment and opportunities for art-lovers and practitioners of all ilks.

As the Paint Dries is a phrase coined by the author’s husband Scott Thomas as the humourous title of the on-going AAH daily soap-opera. The Art Association of Harrisburg is a family, a reality show, a visual feast and a very human comedy. The AAH story is a rich tapestry, filled with serious episodes punctuated by incredible-but-true anecdotes. Most of all, the AAH story is the story of the people who have made it what it is today, and who continue to guide it into the future.

Excerpt:
(From the chapter AAH Exhibitions Through the Early Years: 1926-1954) … As has been noted in the section of this book on the early origins of The Art Association of Harrisburg, Homer St.Gaudens, director of the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh, was instrumental in the creation of the organization. Even after the charter had been accepted and the Articles of Incorporation finalized, Mr. St. Gaudens retained his abiding interest in the wellbeing of AAH. It was he in February of 1926 who arranged for a major show of paintings by Sir John Lavery, R.A., of England, as the first exhibition to be presented under the AAH auspices.

According to an article in The Patriot dated February 15, 1926, Harrisburg was chosen instead of Palm Beach as one of the few cities for exhibition of Lavery’s paintings. Apparently, the AAH exhibition committee, chaired by Mrs. Lyman Gilbert of 203 N. Front St. had met to discuss the exhibition, with Homer St. Gaudens planning to arrive the next day to confer with the committee on the location for the show. St. Gaudens had planned the exhibition’s circuit, with it originally including only Boston, New York, Pittsburgh and Palm Beach. It seems that the “difficulty of transportation has made it impossible to take the collection of paintings to Palm Beach, and Harrisburg was chosen instead.”

The article explained that Sir John and Lady Lavery had been spending time in America, traveling with the collection of 46 portraits, interiors, and landscapes selected by the artist himself. An Evening Newsarticle from February 11 had called the paintings one of “the most unusual one-man collections ever exhibited in America.” Sir John Lavery was a member of the Royal Academies of London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Rome, Milan and Stockholm; of the Society of French Artists, Beaux Arts Society of Paris, Society of Spanish Artists in Madrid and of the Secessions of Berlin, Vienna and Munich. The article extolled the fact that Lavery had been knighted by the King of England, by the King of Italy and by the King of the Belgians, and had been awarded the degree of doctor of laws by Queen’s University, Belfast. At that time, Lavery was represented by paintings in the permanent collections of 38 public galleries and museums throughout the world. Obviously, having this collection come to Harrisburg as the premier exhibition of the new Art Association was a real coup, and a testament to the value Homer St. Gaudens placed on the organization he had worked so diligently to create.

The Patriot and The Evening News enthused over the exhibition, running excited articles as the paintings began to arrive. On February 25, 1926, The Patriot announced the arrival of two additional paintings and stated that the Lavery exhibit would open at the Civic Club at 11 AM on February 26 for a ten-day run. The two paintings that arrived were “The Silver Dress,” a portrait of Lady Curzon, and “The Red Hammock,” a portrait of Lady Hazel Lavery reclining in a hammock. The article explained that for each day of the ten days of the exhibition there would be a hostess on duty at the Civic Club to answer questions. The hours each day would be 11 AM to 1 PM, and 2 PM to 10 PM during the week, and 2 PM to 10 PM on Sunday. One hundred and fifty people were expected to attend the pre-showing, with “each trustee of the Art Association given the privilege of inviting 5 guests.”

It was noted that the club’s lecture room had been transformed into a “real art gallery,” with electric light reflectors installed over each painting to “give just the proper amount of light to bring out the rich colourings of the pictures.”

On February 26, The Patriot noted that Dr. C. Valentine Kirby described Lavery as “primarily a portrait painter” when he spoke about the collection at the show’s preview the evening before. The collection of paintings was valued at $100,000, an astonishing sum for 1926. Dr. Kirby explained, “The paintings of Sir John Lavery have something in them that shows he paints for the love of painting and not because he had to. Dr. Valentine was the director of art in the State Department of Education, and had been invited to give his informed comments to the elite group assembled at the Civic Club for the show’s “pre-showing.” Dr. Valentine further said that in Lavery’s interiors and outdoor scenes, the artist almost always included a figure “which seems to fit into the surroundings exactly and belong there.”

Book Release Event:
The Art Association of Harrisburg will be hosting an event to celebrate the release of As the Paint Dries on Friday December 5, 2014, from 5 pm to 8 pm at the association’s headquarters at 21 North Front Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101.